How Debunked Claims About Haitian Migrants Eating Pets Gained Traction

The racist and inflammatory narrative spread on the backs of memes, greed, biases and news deserts.

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Downtown Springfield, Ohio, last month. The small Midwestern city has been gripped by a false narrative that Haitian immigrants were killing and eating pets.

Good evening! Tonight, my colleague Tiffany Hsu, who covers misinformation and disinformation, explains why false claims about Haitians in Ohio spread so widely even after they were debunked. We’re also covering Democratic groups’ warning about key voting blocs, and the way Republicans have talked about abortion in recent days. — Jess Bidgood

By Tiffany Hsu

The false narrative that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were killing and eating pets was quickly and decisively debunked this month. But that did not prevent the rumor from catapulting across the national stage for weeks.

In early September, a Springfield resident published an error-riddled Facebook post that relied on what she later called a “game of telephone.” She deleted the post and disavowed it, but on Sept. 5, a conservative user posted it on X.

On Sept. 9, Springfield officials discredited the claim — but by then, it was already too late. It was racing through an online ecosystem primed to amplify disinformation.

On Sept. 10, Donald Trump supercharged the narrative by referring to it during the presidential debate. Despite an immediate fact check from one of the debate moderators, the false story line exploded online and in the real world, propelled by conservative news outlets, political leaders and social media influencers.

Here’s why disinformation — usually defined as false information that its peddlers know is deceptive — has been so difficult to rein in during a particularly chaotic campaign cycle.

Living the meme

Even as the animal cruelty disinformation led to tangible harassment and threats in Springfield, the narrative was being played for laughs online. Trump and a coterie of allies — including Elon Musk, the owner of X — blitzed the internet with artificially generated images of pets in fantastical situations. Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, egged supporters on by urging them on X to “keep the cat memes flowing.” TikTok videos showed families applying seasonings to their pets in jest; a South African musician created a viral TikTok remix of Trump’s debate comment and then performed it live in Munich, posting about the event on X accompanied by a laughing emoji.

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